Mudblood
by InTheArmsofaTheif
Summary: On hold until further notice.
1. Madison Long and School of Witchcraft

Exactly one month after Harry Potter had learned of his being a wizard, a girl of striking similarities yet no relation found out hers. As Harry Potter waited excitedly during his last day with the Durselys before his first day at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Madison Long was being visited by a very old man with a very long, very white beard.

It was then that Madison was told all about Hogwarts and the wizarding world. One thing, however, confused Madison that the old man with the odd name of Albus Dumbledore could not, or would not, seem to answer. Why should she go to a magic school in England, she had inquired, for were not there any in America? This question had been relevant because Madison Long lived in New York.

"Ah, you see, Miss Long, when a witch or wizard is born, their name appears on the list of one of the wizarding schools, and yours appeared on mine." The man, Dumbledore, gave a kind, wrinkly smile which was promptly ignored with a curt, "But why?"

With a humored laugh, Dumbledore stood. "Some things, my dear, cannot be explained." Then, after asking the permission of Madison's still stunned father (who had nodded yes most likely without hearing the question), Dumbledore had Madison hold on tight and the two of them disappeared.

As the tight, twisting pain of apparition was finished, Madison found it rather difficult not to be sick. "Ah, yes, I have forgotten how uncomfortable that can be when you are not used to it," Dumbledore said, his ever present smile twinkling behind his eyes. "Now, if you are quite steady on your feet I will have you notice your surroundings."

Madison looked up, and then around in wonder. She raced from spot to spot, admiring all the different shops and _things. _It was spectacular. Dumbledore watched as the young girl ran her hands over the shop windows of Diagon Alley. He had nearly forgotten what it was like to be young and all the wonder in the world still fresh. "Come now, Madison," he said after walking up to her, "we must get your school things."

After the Apothecary, Flourish and Blott's, robe fittings at Madam Malkin's, and everything in between, they finally reached the store Madison had been terribly excited to go to. The name _Ollivander_ was scrawled in large gold painted wooden letters over the door and wide window. _Wands_, she thought excitedly. Madison opened the door with a tug and walked in, the old man just behind her.

Another old man stood behind the counter, his hair just as white although not as long. "Are all wizards this ancient?" she thought out loud, to which Mr. Ollivander gave a wink and a nod. He then looked up to Dumbledore. "Oh, Professor Dumbledore, it's been too long. And who might we have here?"

The Professor placed a hand on the girl's shoulder with a smile. "This here is Miss Madison Long, born of muggles. She'll be joining us at Hogwarts this year." Mr. Ollivander nodded and darted behind a wall of boxes. He came back around holding a light yellow box and set it on the table after taking off the lid. "Go on," he said, "give it a twirl. Bit late, Professor, to be getting school things, don't you think?"

"Yes, I do, quite. But given her unique circumstances, it was all the time I could give her, I'm afraid," he replied as Mr. Ollivander snatched the wand out of Madison's hand, replacing it with another. After the fifth wand, however, Madison refused the next one in succession. "Sorry, but I don't think your choices are quite working."

The two old men looked down at Madison with amusement on their faces. "She reminds me much of… muggle born you said?" Dumbledore nodded. "Curious," he muttered and then turned back to Madison. "Well then, Miss Long, by all means." Mr. Ollivander gestured for her to step behind the counter.

Madison let her hand sweep across the countertop, her fingers collecting dust. Her eyes wandered over the faded labels as she wound her way to the very back of the winding shelves, running her fingers over the rows of boxes. Suddenly, she stopped. The old store keep looked at the blue box her fingers landed on and said, "Unicorn horn, yew, seven inch –," Madison quickly pulled her hand away and shook her head. "No, not that one," she said, looking where her hand had rested. Instead, she pointed above her head, "that one."

Mr. Ollivander looked to where she pointed. Three boxes down sat a very old box, tattered and no longer white. The label he had written when he was just a young man was hardly visible, scrawled in a faded blue. "This one?" he asked with growing curiosity. Mr. Ollivander took down the old box, careful to not disturb the others and brought it to the front of the store. "This one," he continued, opening the lid and taking out the wand, "is oak, 11 ½ inches, firm yet flexible, dragon heartstring." He handed the wand to Madison, who was now standing on the correct side of the counter. "It's as old as the wand in the window." Madison would have looked over to see the wand sitting in the windowsill, but she was instead staring at the end of her wand, for it was hers, in awe as red sparks swirled out of it.

The next day, Madison stood with a trolley of her things at King's Cross Station with an old woman named Mrs. Figg. They were there extraordinarily early despite the time listed on the ticket. Mrs. Figg, who smelled strongly of cat, seemed to be worried about 'being discovered' or what not. "Now dear," she said, "remember, if you ever want to mail your father, all you have to do is owl it over to me and I'll send it through the muggle post."

"Yes, Mrs. Figg," Madison said, rolling her eyes. "I think I'll go onto the platform now."

"Oh, yes, quite. Well then, dear, all you have to do is go through that wall there, between the two platforms."

"Through the wall?"

Mrs. Figg nodded a little jerkily. "Go in a run if you must, makes it easier."

Madison sighed, but decided it would be better to run head first into a brick wall than spend a second longer with the woman. Pushing her cart forward, Madison broke into a run. As she swore she was going to crash, she went through, just as Mrs. Figg had said.

Behind her stood not a brick wall but a large archway that read _Platform Nine and Three Quarters_ and before her was a most magnificent red train. A few scattered wizards stood around, some with children, others dressed in conductor's outfits. She was able to get a conductor to help her with her trunk, which Madison was still unsure as to how Dumbledore managed to get all of her clothes. Before he put her trunk away, she pulled out a book to read. This was supposed to be a long ride, after all.

Madison wound her way to the back and went into a cabin on her left. As the hours passed, students slowly started to clamor aboard, others stayed on the platform with their families. A sudden rush of families and students came onto the platform as Madison watched from her window. Just then the door was opened and three boys about the same age as Madison walked in.

"We're sitting here," the blonde said as he sat across from Madison. The two large boys that accompanied him also sat. "I'm Malfoy, by the way, Draco Malfoy." Madison didn't look up from her book. She wondered if the boy thought he was James Bond or something by the way he said his name. "And these are my mates, Crabbe and Goyle." Names here are crazy. "Aren't you going to tell me yours?"

"Madison," she said, still reading.

"Where are you from? Your accent sounds funny."

Not having a bookmark about Madison regrettably dog-eared her page and shut her book. Resting _Magical Drafts and Potions _on her lap, Madison looked up. The blonde was sitting smugly, as if her were the king of the school already. "America, you fucking idiot," she said, displaying her nasty mouth for the first time since being told she was a witch. A scowl quickly overcame Draco's face.

"Watch who you're insulting, Madison. American are you? I bet you're not even from a proper wizard family. Most of those who migrated weren't purebloods."

"Oh, and I suppose that's what you are, pureblood. I bet you're just a fucking spoiled brat."

The two large boys in the cabin stood up due to the insult, ready to hit, but the Draco put his hand up. "You know what I think?" Draco started. "I think that you're a filthy mudblood. I've never heard of the name Madison in any of my father's circles."

"Madison isn't my surname, you fucking idiot. In America, we call our peers by their first name. And what the fuck is a mudblood?"

"That proves it then, you _are _a mudblood. Your parent's aren't even wizards."

The train started off with a jerk, sending the two fat boys flying against the walls of the cabin. As they fumbled to find their footing Madison reopened her potion's book and continued reading. "Mudblood, huh? So that's your big insult. Well, it sounds about right," Madison remarked. "My linage isn't so clean even if I weren't a witch. However, mudblood is saying my blood is dirty, right? But you have to know the saying 'blood is thicker than water'. If that's the case, then mud," she looked up and locked eyes with Draco, "is by far thicker than blood." With a satisfying smirk on her face, Madison went back to her book, ignoring any further comment.

It wasn't long before mutters came down the hall of the train with a name on their lips. "Harry Potter?" Draco said, standing. He pulled open the door and asked the nearest student, and soon the three boys were off.

X

Madison followed the female professor, McGonagall, along with the terribly nervous bunch of first years. She was not fazed by the idea of a challenge to 'sort' them, as they had been previously gossiping about. Challenges were her forte, however little magic she knew. The sight of the great hall, however, awed her just as much, if not more, than the other first year students.

As she gazed up at the nonexistent ceiling, Madison overheard another girl explain how it was enchanted. "I read it in _Hogwarts, a History_," the girl stated. To Madison, Magic was still a wonder that made her dream. She looked back to where they were heading and spotted Dumbledore sitting at the head. He caught her eye and gave a barely noticeable wink, his eyes smiling for him.

Once the students had gathered round the front, Professor McGonagall placed a stool in front of them. Then she placed a rather old wizard's hat on top of the stool. It was patched and frayed, but after a moment, it began to sing:

_"Oh you may not think me pretty,  
But don't judge on what you see,  
I'll eat myself if you can find  
A smarter hat than me.  
You can keep your bowlers black,  
Your top hats sleek and tall,  
For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat  
And I can cap them all.  
There's nothing hidden in your head  
The Sorting Hat can't see,  
So try me on and I will tell you  
Where you ought to be._

_You might belong in_

_Gryffindor,  
Where dwell the brave at heart,  
Their daring, nerve, and chivalry  
Set Gryffindors apart;  
You might belong in Hufflepuff,  
Where they are just and loyal,  
Those patient Hufflepuffs are true  
And unafraid of toil;  
Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,  
if you've a ready mind,  
Where those of wit and learning,  
Will always find their kind;  
Or perhaps in Slytherin  
You'll make your real friends,  
Those cunning folks use any means  
To achieve their ends._

_So put me on! Don't be afraid!_  
_And don't get in a flap!_  
_You're in safe hands (though I have none)_  
_For I'm a Thinking Cap!'_

And then, Professor McGonagall began calling names. "Abbott, Hannah."

The names on the list slowly got closer to Madison's. Some students took longer to be sorted than others, but all were placed and their table cheered for them. "Li, Su." The Chinese girl walked up and sat on the stool. Not long after the hat was placed on her head it yelled to the hall, "RAVENCLAW!" And another surge of students cheered.

"Long, Madison."

The most entire school watched as she walked up to the stool and sat down. As the old hat rested on her head, the lip of the cap covered her eyes. Suddenly a voice spoke in her ear. "_Hmmm, interesting. You're smart, yes, maybe Ravenclaw… but no, that's not right. It's all here in your mind, you see, you would do well in Ravenclaw, yes, but your true heart lies in… but no, I can't do that. It would cause quite the controversy."_

"What would?" Madison whispered to herself.

_"It goes against Salazar's choices, but it's so true to your heart I'm going to have to say _SLYTHERIN!"

"Whatever," she thought just before the cap was taken off of her head, missing the glance McGonagall gave to Dumbeldore.

Madison headed towards the table that was cheering and sat down next to the other first years that had been sorted. Two of them were the large boys she had shared her cabin with. It took them a minute to recognize Madison, but once they did they each looked at each other, confused. Another two names were listed off before, "Malfoy, Draco," was called. The sorting hat barely touched his head when it shouted Slytherin, sending him over to the same table as Madison.

"Crabbe, Goyle," Draco snapped, "what are you two doing, don't sit near _her_." The other Slytherin students began to look over at him. "She's a _mudblood._"

Everyone nearby in the house turned, wide mouthed and disgusted. Before she could even register it, the whispers were running down table. Madison herself was bumped by the girl next to her unusually hard. The commotion of Madison joining the Slytherin house wasn't even quieted by the next two first years to join. It wasn't until the name she had heard Draco say on the train was called did they stop. A new eruption of whispers arose, this time throughout the whole school.

The boy, Harry Potter, sat down for what seemed like a long time before the hat finally called out Gryffindor. The house he was assigned cheered with more ferocity than any table had ever before. "What's so special about him?" Madison thought. Not long after one red head boy yelled, "WE GOT POTTER!" did the grumbling and whispers about Madison start up again, even more vehement than before, possibly due to the loss of Potter.

Madison quickly learnt what the sorting house meant by her being in Slytherin a bit of a controversy. After retiring to the dorms she was quickly shunned by all those in her house. As the week went on Madison had the difficulty of finding all of her classes on her own, which was tricky enough. The portraits and statues seemed to move, including the staircases, leaving Madison with no landmarks to follow.

By the time Friday came around, Madison was more than thankful. She only had one class that day and it was a class she had been looking forward too. The other students in her house were rather pleased, for Double Potions was with the Gryffindors, which meant that they got to watch them being picked on, apparently.

As they took their seats, Madison had the unfortunate opportunity to be left with a seat just next to Draco. Madison tried to push this to the back of her mind as the teacher began to speak. The movement of one student caught her eye as Professor Snape insinuated the class to be a bunch of 'dunderheads'. It was the bushy haired girl who had spoken of the ceiling on their first day. The Gryffindor girl looked anxious to prove herself intelligent, almost jumping up from her seat.

"Potter!" Snape snapped, drawing back the attention of Madison. "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

Madison thought back to when she read her potion's book on the train. It came easily, for the name _Draught of Living Death _caught her eye. "Straight out of Snowwhite," she had thought when reading it. As she came to this conclusion, the bushy haired girl was already sitting higher with her hand raised as Potter said he didn't know.

Beside her, Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle were laughing at the sight of the great Harry Potter being silenced. Professor Snape asked another two questions, to which the supposedly famous boy finally responded to ask Hermione, whom Madison assumed to be the bushy haired girl. "Sit down," the professor snapped at Hermione and then proceeded to give the answers to his own questions. All of which Madison was smugly pleased to know. "Well?" he asked the class. "Why aren't you all copying that down?"

There was a rush of quills and parchment. Madison didn't quite understand why wizards still used the archaic form of writing. Snape strolled over to where she sat, not writing, and glared. "Miss Long, why are you not taking notes like the rest of the class?" Madison sighed and pulled out the notebooks she had insisted to Dumbledore on bringing from her satchel and opened the green one to the third page. She pointed to her alphabetical list of potions ingredients she had made the day prior.

At the top of her list was _Aconite, aka wolfsbane, aka monkshood. Flower looks like monk's cowl. EXTREMELY POISONOUS. Can be used as massage oil, but if swallowed or absorbed through cut, could be deadly. _She then dragged her finger father down the list to where she had written: _Bezoar. Shriveled kidney like 'stone'. Really hairball of goat. Protects from most poisons. _Madison then picked up her purple notebook and flipped it to the fifth page where she had scrawled _Draught of the Living Dead _and its usage.

Professor Snape gave Madison a look as if to say she was just like Granger to which Madison replied, "I don't need to prove myself to anyone." To this Professor Snape merely ignored her and continued teaching. Soon into his lesson, the Professor paired everybody up with the person they were sitting next to (which meant for Madison she was tortured to work with Draco) and to make a simple potion.

"You better not mess this up, Long," Draco snapped.

"Funny, I was about to say the same thing," she replied calmly while turning to the page. Madison read the list of ingredients for the boil cure potion and set about to collect them.

"What is this?" Draco asked, picking up one of the ingredients with his fingers.

"Slug."

"Gah!" he said, dropping it.

Madison glared. "You're lucky that was just a slug. Imagine if that were something breakable, then we'd be missing an essential part of the potion. Idiot."

"Hey, watch it, filth," he said.

To this, Madison ignored him and went about weighing the dried nettles and bringing water to a boil. She looked up from her task to see Malfoy stand there simply watching. "Can you be productive and crush those snake fangs?"

"No."

"Would you rather deal with the slugs?"

To this Malfoy grumbled something but went on to crush the fangs. Before he was finished this task, the water was boiling and Madison added the horned slugs and dried nettles. She let them stew for a bit, helping Malfoy finish up the fangs, which she then added.

"What about those quills?" he asked. Draco went to put them in with the rest, but Madison quickly snatched them away. "Hey, watch it!"

"Don't be so stupid," she snapped, placing the porcupine quills back on the table. Madison took the cauldron off the fire and let it cool for a second. "Now you can add them."

Just as he was about to, the Professor came around and complimented him on the stew, telling the rest of the class to see how perfectly the slugs were done. Draco gave Madison a smirk and added the porcupine quills. Just then, clouds of acid green smoke and a loud hissing filled the dungeons. Everyone turned to see two Gryffindors, one having been splattered in the stuff and growing hideous red boils. Their pot was near completely melted into a blob.

"That," Madison said to Draco, "is why you weren't supposed to add the quills when you wanted to."

Malfoy gulped.

X

The weekend was fairly quiet. It had only been a week yet Madison's fellow Slytherins were already used to pretending as if she did not exist. The only thing that worried her was the aspect of a new class. On the bulletin board in the common room was pinned a flyer for flying lessons with Gryffindor every Thursday. Madison was completely unsure as to how witches and wizards flew about and was secretly quite terrified.

Being quite friendless and uninformed, Madison did the only thing reasonable in her situation. She went to the library. The feeling of books overturned her senses as she entered the maze of parchment. Madame Pince sat at her desk staring over her shiny glasses like a vulture as Madison walked up. "What do you want, girl?" she asked sharply.

"Do you have books on flying? Or, what was it called, Quidditch?"

The librarian took a boney finger and pushed up her glasses. "I'm afraid our only book on Quidditch has been checked out by a Miss Granger. It is due on Wednesday, if you would like you may check back then," she said.

Madison nodded in defeat. _Not even a book to help me, _she thought. Still, after coming here, Madison didn't want to leave. It reminded her too much of her room back in America, piled up with books. Except these books didn't tell of fanciful adventures in far off lands, but of real magic. This was the moment it truly hit her. This was real.

It seemed from that moment on Madison spent her every spare moment in the library. She had all but forgotten about flying by the time Thursday came around for she had engrossed herself all the history books, _Hogwarts, A History_ practically memorized. Madison had never been one for history, but there was something different about the history of something magical. It was more like _The Chronicles' of Narnia _than it was the American Revolution.

Still, Thursday did come round, but none of Madison's fears came to pass. A Gryffindor boy named Neville broke his arm. This led half the class to be wasted while Madame Hooch brought him to the Hospital Wing. It was quite entertaining for Madison to watch Draco and the Potter boy he seemed to hate chase each other around. She hoped they both got in trouble, but only Potter got taken away by Professor McGonagall.

Draco walked back over to the Slytherins, a smug look on his face. It wasn't long after that Madam Hooch returned, but it was only to dismiss the students. Madison watched the other Slytherins laugh at the expense of Potter.

There was a moment of envy in Madison as she saw Draco in the center of the group. She remembered her life back in America. There, she had friends. Not many, too many 'accidents', as her dad and the school administration called it, scared most people away. However, the few muggles that were Madison's friends treated her as so many Slytherins treat Draco: their leader. In the end, Madison got the laugh in that Potter was placed on the Qudditch team. Draco was more than envious.

Madison left before the rest of them. Having no other classes that afternoon, she headed to the library. It had quickly become her sanctuary.

And this is the way the year passed. Madison went to class and silently did her work. She headed for meals as early as possible in order to leave before the majority of her house. Then, she made her way to the library in her spare time. She even went to the library when a troll had been found in the dungeon. Madison wasn't going to head to her dorms in the dungeon if a troll was in that area, so instead she sneaked into library and read. No one even noticed she had been missing.

When Christmas neared, Madison wondered if she would be going home. She didn't think her father could afford a plane ticket for her and she didn't want to spend her time with the cat lady. Part of her desperately wanted to, for even her safe haven was being invaded. The girl was one thing, but all three of the stupid Gryffindors were in the library every day. In the end she stayed. It worked out well since she ended up being the only one in her level to stay. She even had the chance to read in the common room. She even got two presents on Christmas morning. One package was from her father, filled with chocolate. Another was simple picture frame from Mrs. Figg that Madison put in her trunk. She had no pictures worth putting in it.

That was unfortunately the nicest part of Madison's whole year. Christmas and the rare moments everybody else was at a quidditch match were the only times she was free to live in her own dormitory. She always took the quidditch matches to take extra long showers.

The only other good point for Madison was when Draco had earned himself detention for being out after hours. He had been all smug and boasting how he would bust the games keeper for having a dragon, and in the end there was none and he had to go into the forbidden forest.

It was one of the many nights Madison couldn't sleep and had come down to the common room to sit in front of the fire when Malfoy returned, scared witless. It was a sight she was able to hold over his head for a while.

On the nights she did sleep, the other girls in the dormitory had a tendency to pull pranks. One morning she woke up to all of her clothes missing and nobody else in the room. Although their trunks were locked, Madison was able to open them with a simple spell she had read about. Madison ransacked their clothes and hid anything of value. It took the other girls months of searching before they found everything again. Madison also got all of her clothes back. With every escalated prank pulled, they slowly stopped doing anything worse than name calling.

When end of year exams came, Madison was one of the few students to not be stressed. Although quite bright, she had never cared about schooling and didn't mind whatever grades she got. However, with all of her reading, she ended with the highest marks in her grade for the Slytherins. Hermione Granger was the only student in first year with higher exam marks, but Madison accredited that to the way she crammed for all of her tests.

It was in the time after the exams and before they all headed home that Madison didn't know what to do with herself. She had taken a walk outside after lunch, but quickly decided that it was best if she just stayed in the library. The way the Gryffindor Ginger Twins and their friend were tickling the giant squid's tentacles kind of scared her. She didn't want to be trapped if anything dangerous happened.

As Madison entered the school she saw Hermione, Harry, and Ron being coyly talked to by Professor Snape. They turned to go back outside but Madison continued on her way. After a few steps Snape rounded the corner, probably to check if the three had done as told. He seemed slightly surprised to see her there.

"Now, Miss Long," Snape said in his usual annoyed tone, "where might you be off to?"

"The library," she said simply.

"Studying after the exams, Miss Long, does not sound likely of any student."

Madison merely shrugged at his near accusation. "I have nothing better to do with my time," she said almost haughtily. "If my subjects were the same as a muggle I can assure you I wouldn't be so ready to learn." Snape watched the girl as she headed into the school, away from all of her classmates.

The next day Madison found the school swarming with rumors about the famous boy, the red head, and Hermione Granger. The two boys were in the hospital wing, but what put them there seemed to range from just a fist fight to a battle with dragons and no one seemed to have the same story.

Madison retired to the library as usual after dinner and found the bushy haired girl there reviewing _Hogwarts, A History_. Hermione looked up from her book and the girls locked eyes for a moment, but Madison turned quickly and returned the book on counter curses she had been memorizing to Madame Pince.

The last few days faded by in the pages of books until it was time to head home.

The rumors never stopped as to what the trio had gotten into, and even at the Slytherin table people were talking about it before the feast began. Suddenly the hall fell silent. Everyone was watching as Harry Potter, even more famous than when he arrived. In seconds the students erupted into whispers.

While Harry Potter was greeted with unwanted attention, Madison sat at the end of the year feast with a little bubble of room around her. Even with the hall decorated for Slytherin's win at the House Cup, they were not in good enough a mood to forget they hated her. When Dumbledore announced the new points for the Gryffindors, all the students sitting closest to Madison glared at her. She was a jinx to the house, it was official.

At least Madison was able sit alone on the ride to King's Cross Station. When they reached the terminal, she had to wait and watch all the other Hogwarts students be picked up by their parents until Mrs. Figg finally showed up. From there she was brought to the airport. In six hours she would be home.


	2. Madison Long and the Writing on the Wall

Summer had gone by far too fast for Madison Long. She had spent her days reviewing her notes from the previous year. It bothered Madison that they weren't allowed to practice spell work while outside of the school. She wanted to arrive at Hogwarts that September and know everything. It was the only way she could prove herself without looking like she was trying to prove herself.

Every odd weekend her father would take a day off work and they would bus down to Boston. From there they would travel to Salem. Dumbledore had somehow slipped Madison a note in her trunk before she left Hogwarts. It told her all about how to enter the magical town in Massachusetts that was much like Diagon Alley.

There were broom shops and book shops and a dinky wand shop, nothing like the selection at Ollivanders. It was same with the robe shops. But Madison didn't care about brooms or robes, and she already had her wand. Even the book shop lost its interest since she couldn't read them there like at the school's library. She spent her time in Salem at the apothecary staring at the different ingredients and even smelling all the ones she could. Each trip Madison would pick up a few exotic ingredients that weren't readily available in the student's cabinet at Hogwarts. During these trips Mr. Long would normally sit in the Hangman's Noose, a bar and inn, and wait, trying to convince himself that he was in a normal pub.

When Madison received her letter as to what supplies were needed this year, she was surprised it hadn't come via owl post. The ocean was a bit of a stretch for such a creature, so Dumbledore had mailed the letter specially. Enclosed was even her plane ticket to London, which was a relief for her father. He could afford the estimated book price and supplies, but not a plane ticket.

On their next trip to Salem Mr. Long actually followed Madison on her jaunt to gather her potions ingredients and books. "Seven books by one author?" her father questioned, looking at her book list as they entered Goody & Binns, the book shop.

"I read one of them already, _Traveling with Trolls_, after one was loose in the school." (Hearing this Mr. Long nearly clutched his hand to his chest. He had no idea how much danger his daughter might have been in.) "It was really poorly written and exaggerated. I then skimmed through his other works and noticed there seemed to be a couple of continuity issues. So, this Lockhart character probably made most of this up."

Madison picked up her copy of _The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 2 _and then _Draughts for Dreams, Mixtures for Memory: A Complete Guide to Potions and the Unconscious,_ even though it wasn't on the school list. She made up for the extra book by assuring her father she didn't need _any _of the Gilderoy Lockhart books. 

Mr. Long also bought Madison a new set of notebooks from Staples after they returned home. They both thought the idea of parchment paper and quill and ink pens a bit ridiculous in this day and age.

On August 29th, Madison hopped on a plane and spent the next night with the same old woman as the year before, Mrs. Figg. Mrs. Figg had a lot of cats, which Madison didn't mind, but they woke her up a couple of times that night.

The next day, Madison had to accompany the elderly woman to a few streets over. The Polkiss family was having an end of the summer barbeque. There were only two other kids the same age as Madison at the party. One was kind of short and had a rat like face. His name was Piers and he was the son of the hosts. The other was quite large, so much so Madison didn't know how he was able to walk. Piers seemed to follow this fat boy, Dudley, like he was the best thing ever. Madison sat disgusted at these muggles more than even her school mates.

She was quite glad to be leaving the party early so that Mrs. Figg could feed her many cats. "You're welcome to bring your niece around anytime she's visiting," called the frail looking woman that somehow bore the oafish boy Dudley. "They got along splendidly." Madison nearly died at the thought.

The next day Mrs. Figg brought Madison to King's Cross exuberantly early, the same as last year. This Madison didn't mind though. While there was still nobody there Madison was able to enter the platform without risk of being noticed and then find a seat on the Hogwarts Express where ever she wanted and make sure she was alone.

As the train filled up only first years asked if they could sit in the same cabin as Madison after opening the door. All of them froze for a moment and then ran after receiving a very harsh glare. It was only bad luck that in Madison's opinion that a particular lowly first year opened her compartment door. A thin girl with wavy blonde locks stared at Madison as if she weren't even there. "What do you want," Madison snapped. Too many people had been interrupting her reading already.

"Hello there. May I sit here? All the other compartments seem to be full." Even her voice seemed to be have a dream like tone to it. Madison grunted in response which the girl took as a yes. "My name's Luna. Luna Lovegood. What's your name?"

Madison stared at the girl, not willing to speak.

"That's alright," Luna said. "I'll read too." The girl pulled out a magazine called _The Quibbler_ and promptly turned it upside down to begin reading.

Madison didn't know what to think of the girl. She obviously didn't know Madison was a Slytherin and a muggle-born, so she had no prejudices yet, but this Luna girl seemed strange in herself. The ride together was quite with only a few minor remarks from Luna as she read and searched through her bag.

Upon reaching the castle the first year had to follow Hagrid to the lake in the same way Madison had done the previous year. This time Madison followed a much larger mass of students and climbed into an empty chariot. They seemed to be pulled by nothing, but such oddities were common around Hogwarts and Madison thought nothing of it.

Unfortunately, from the other door stumbled in no other than a much more annoying blonde. "What are you doing here, Long?"

"The same as you, Malfoy," she retorted.

Malfoy grunted as Crabbe and Goyle entered in. Just due to their size only one could sit on each side, forcing Madison to sit next to Goyle on the trip to the castle. It wasn't a very long trip, but it was a very annoying one. Draco kept talking to his goons about Madison as if she weren't there, only increasing the degree of bad things he said by Madison's lack of reaction. Inside she was visually using every spell she knew against him, but she didn't want to risk being crushed by the boy on her right at the moment.

Upon reaching the castle they followed suit and made their way into the Great Hall. Madison, like always, took her spot on the corner of the table as close to the doors as possible. When the first years arrived behind Professor McGonagall, Madison spotted the lofty blonde that had sat with her on the ride down.

Madison watched the group be sorted with a bit of apprehension. This was the moment that would decide their lives and their friends for the rest of their lives, and she knew it. When the first student got sorted in to the Slytherin house, Madison took a side long glance at the high table. Dumbledore caught her eye. He looked sad over something but gave Madison a quick smile. Madison also noticed Professor Snape's absence from the table.

When the sorting was over (Luna having been placed into Ravenclaw), McGonagall too left the Great Hall, shortly followed by Professor Dumbledore when his speech was over. In attempts to ignore how the newly sorted Slytherin students were being told how exactly to treat her, Madison watched the Professor's table. Snape was the first to return, very disgruntled. Madison chose that moment to look away. She didn't want to be caught under Snape's glare when he seemed so angry.

As soon as the deserts appeared on the table, Madison slipped out of the Great Hall and headed towards the dungeons. She had to wait until the Slytherin Prefect came down with the password, but she was the first one to her room. During her extra studies the previous year Madison had come across a charm that prevented her roommates from opening her bedroom curtains and her trunk. Madison didn't have to worry Pansy, Daphne, Millicent, or Tracey trying anything stupid while she tried to sleep anymore.

X

First day back at classes and Draco was already on Madison's nerves. He had been making fun of Ron Weasley since breakfast. Apparently the Howler had been quite amusing, and all of Draco's friends laughed with him on the matter. Madison had skipped breakfast.

All during first period (Charms), most of the Slytherin boys laughed at Draco's interpretation of the morning's events. Then, after Flitwick was finally able to calm them down, Madison's classmates fell back to their taunting of her. Paper notes flew to her, bouncing off the back of her head or nearly grazing her cheek. They never tired of these antics, Madison had observed in her first year, so she ignored them best as possible.

Madison herself fell back to her routines from first year. She rushed to the library after grabbing a quick sandwich during lunch and read. But something happened Madison hadn't quite expected. She was bored of the material she could read. Last year she had gone through literally every history book on the shelves not in the restricted section and she had spent a lot of her summer finishing memorizing _One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi_. True, there were a number of spell and potions books she hadn't ventured to read yet, but what good was just reading them? That's it, she thought.

Her brain moved very quickly in rescheduling her free time, but soon she had it fixed. She would be practicing spells this year, maybe even brew a potion or two from her new book.

Madison finished the day rather pleased with her new agenda. This secret enjoyment didn't last too long, however, due to Draco's untimely appearance as she entered the Slytherin Common room. He and Marcus Flint, a 6th year and the captain of the Quidditch team were talking over something instead of eating in the Great Hall. Madison herself was skipping dinner (she had hoarded a number of sandwiches for herself when she left the library and lunch was still going) and had hoped to get to her dorm without anyone disturbing her. She found she had little luck these days.

Flint, the troll, snarled at her in disgust. Malfoy, who had gotten used to her, merely glared. "Please, go on discussing trivial nonsense. No need to stop for my presence," Madison said, rolling her eyes. She may have looked colder than any Slytherin at the moment, but in truth it hurt that no one even wanted to talk around her, let alone with her. The most she ever received was the taunting jeers from her classmates. "Don't speak to us, Mudblood," Draco snapped. "Go lock yourself away like always and keep yourself gone this time. It'll be a pleasure to the whole world."

Madison didn't respond to this. She returned Malfoy's glare, pulled her hair together and flipped it over one shoulder, and turned on her heel, heading further down the dungeons to the girl's dorm. Once there she undressed, showered, and pulled on her pajamas. By the time she crawled into bed Madison could hear the common room begin to get rowdy. "_Silencio,_" she whispered, pointing her wands at her drawn curtains. No sound would get in, and no sound would get out. Still, as silently as she could, Madison let down her cold mask, and wept.

X

On Friday they had their first Defense Against the Dark Arts class of the term. News had already spread of his disastrous classes so far, although there were many girls who would protest these claims. The seventh year Hufflepuffs had to stand and tell of their achievements in thwarting dark arts compared to what Professor Lockhart had done himself by that age to judge what they needed to learn for the NEWTs. Some fifth year Ravenclaw boys were complaining loudly over how all the years had the same course material. Madison's fellow second year Slytherin students couldn't seem to get over the tale of how he had released wild pixies on the Gryffindors. "I wish I could have seen Potter's face!" Draco said about a hundred times.

It was only the third day of school, but the Professor seemed to have learned some lessons. He didn't have any pixies for their class. They did take the pop quiz on himself that some fourth years were talking about in the common room the night before. Madison sat in the back finding the whole situation stupid. How this idiot could possibly have become a Professor at Hogwarts, she would never understand. Compared to what Professor Quirrell taught them, this was more than a joke. It was just pathetic.

On the weekend as her classmates were wandering the castle grounds, enjoying themselves in the cool late summer air, Madison wandered the corridors of the school, searching for a spot to practice spellwork uninterrupted. She happened upon the third floor corridor that had been off limits the year before. She had never wondered why before, but as she walked to its end, she couldn't fathom anything so extraordinarily dangerous to make it so. The room at the end of the hall was unlocked and completely empty with a wide arch window on the right of the entrance, letting in a flood of light from outside.

"Perfect."

X

It was another Saturday and Madison was just heading out to her secret room when she was stopped by none other than the infamous Draco Malfoy. He was wearing the house's Quidditch robes and laughing with the other team members over how the Weasley boy's wand backfired and ended up puking up slugs. She had to admit that such a picture was funny, but when Draco spotted her, his smile fell short.

"Coming out of hiding, Long?"

"I only wish you would go into it," she responded. "Then none of us would be subjected to such a face."

The other Slytherins in the common room fell silent. None of them had ever really heard Madison talk back before.

"Crabbe, Goyle," Draco snapped. The two large goons came to his side at once, snarls upon their lips.

Madison shook her head and headed past them. "Yes, Malfoy, set your muscle on me. You are too weak as a man and a wizard to handle things yourself."

In frustration, Draco took out his wand, near shaking over what Madison had said. Draco gave a remark so witless Madison could only respond with a shake of her head before slipping out into the dungeon corridor.

It wasn't until Madison had made it to her haven did it sink in what she had done. She had never so forthright stood up to Malfoy like that. It felt good, empowering. This feeling only fueled her determination to practice spell work, which wasn't coming along as smoothly as she had hoped. Jinxes and curses were near impossible to practice without a body and counter curses were even more so. Charm work was boring as they were still doing such basic things, even in their second year. And transfiguration was plain difficult. She found herself doing that the most so that by the time class came along, she was proficient enough to pass as it coming easy.

Worse than not having a partner to work with, without her books, Madison wouldn't even know what to say when it came to defensive spells. Her teacher was a buffoon who could barely even practice magic himself.

As the days went by Madison found herself increasingly annoyed by Professor Gilderory Lockhart. The man only stood in the class and read passages from his books. More often than not his tales side tracked from the defensive magic he was supposed to be teaching to the amount of fame he gained from each experience. Madison was thoroughly put off by him. He didn't even get any of their names right.

Another weekend neared and Madison looked forward to her time alone, blasting things across the room and trying to conjure a chair, (Madison was determined to not bring in anything to her haven, but have it be all made of things she made by magic. It wasn't going so well.) Madison knew she had to sit through another lesson with Professor Lockhart before she could do so.

Half way to class a thought struck Madison. A thought so profound she froze in the middle of the corridor for a full minute before turning on her heal and heading back to the stairway. What good was a Defense Against the Dark Arts class where nothing is being taught? She might as well be teaching herself. Which is exactly what Madison planned on doing. She raced to the third floor and opened the door to her secret room, which was now adorned with a rug and a pillow. She couldn't quite get wood right yet.

This made things all the better, in Madison's opinion. Now she could spend more weekends on potions and spend after class time doing her homework in the library without falling behind on the spellworks schedule she had drawn up for herself. She was quite excited. This was definitely a better use of her time than class.

More days came and went and no Slytherin said a word about her missing DADA. She wondered if anyone had noticed her absence or if they rejoiced in it. Madison had been expecting to be ratted out to a teacher by one of her classmates. She wasn't surprised, however, that Lockhart hadn't noticed. He doesn't notice much but himself. Which is a lot when you take in how many portraits of himself are in the classroom.

X

Halloween is always such a big deal at Hogwarts. From what Madison overheard from other muggle borns, it wasn't as celebrated among the muggles in England as it is in America, but it still felt over the top to Madison. The pumpkins were just so big.

Last year the feast had been cut short by a troll having been let loose on the school grounds. Professor Quirrell had come running in whimpering about the troll in the dungeons. When the students had been instructed to go back to their dorms, Madison was not going anywhere near the dungeons. For all she knew her classmates would have kicked her out and forced her to fend for herself. Madison instead went to the only safe place she could think of, the library.

Part of her wanted another such occurrence. Anything to give her an excuse to get away from the way Crabbe and Goyle gored themselves and the crumbs of tart Malfoy kept flinging her way. But nothing did happen. Madison simply stared at her empty plate (she didn't like deserts very much) and occasionally looking at the teachers' table and watching them.

At the end of desert, Dumbeldore stood and addressed us all to have a wonderful night. Madison hoped she would have one too, if she could slip out of there fast enough to reach her bed before Daphne. Daphne Greengrass had proven to be the most meddlesome of her roommates. Definitely someone Madison needed to watch out for.

However, there was such a rush of tired students, Madison found herself the head of a crowd versus a solitary student. When she and the others leading the way reached the main square, everyone fell to a hush. At the top of the stairs Harry Potter and his two friends were clearly visible, along with a very nasty message the appeared to be written in blood. Whispers of Mrs. Norris's fate made their way to where Madison stood. It was horrifying.

Suddenly, a voice Madison knew quite well cut through the silence. "Enemies of the heir, beware!" Madison turned her head to see Draco's smirking face calling from a little ways up the steps. He saw her and locked eyes. "You'll be next, Mudbloods!" After that he ducked behind some other Slytherins to prevent being hit by some neighboring Ravenclaws.

Still, his words echoed in Madison's head. Whatever it was, she was definitely an enemy of the heir.


End file.
